Let the Games Begin!

Today is the day that the NFL returns, wait what?  This post is about football?  Slow your roll, football is a game, one of the most watched in the US (I have to say one of the most watched because I am not in the mood to fact check right now and seeing how many people watch NASCAR in this country will depress me, sorry Carlo) and it is home to one of the best games within a game you will ever play, Fantasy Football.

If you are a football fan or really a fan of management games and haven't given fantasy football a try then you are missing out on one of the most fun real world based management games there is. Think about the manager games that are out there for real sports, what information do they give you and how do they give it to you?  Fake headlines, fake emails regarding players, and more fake media sources but in fantasy football none of that is fake, the NFL is covered everyday on countless numbers of websites, blogs, and of course daily on television.  Instead of getting a choice bit of information given to you from the game you are the one who picks the trusted sources, you have your go to websites and a list of analyst that you trust who aren't named Skip Bayless because lets face it he doesn't know what he is talking about.  The question is with millions of players every year (including you now, that is right I convinced you that easily) why have we not seen a console manufacture or game publisher hop on board? 

Xbox Live and PSN tout the millions of unique users they have on their services, PSN now has a tie in with NFL Sunday Ticket, Xbox Live has an ESPN app and ESPN has their own fantasy football service on their website, still why no move to consoles?  The big kicker is why is there no fantasy football leagues in EA Sports Madden franchise?  Are they afraid it would take away from their own online leagues in which friends can draft their own teams and play against one another through out the season?  They could easily combine the two, join a league with your friends, everyone drafts a team to play against one another weekly online in Madden but built into EA Sports online they can choose to set up a fantasy football league as well with this league.  That is one way of doing it or they could keep it as a separate feature entirely that is built into the dash of Madden, players could send trash talk to each other weekly, notifications of specific player injuries and other updates on the dash as well.  Overall is Microsoft or Sony were to indeed incorporate a fantasy football app or game into their online services it is another avenue to earn advertising money and build a base of steady weekly users, if EA were to include a fantasy football game into their Madden franchise they would give players just another reason to pop in their game discs every week during the NFL season.  It is a win win that will attract new users to the respective platforms and can generate money, this needs to happen. 

    

Easy Mode: A Crutch or A Helping Hand

For those of you that haven't played Dark Souls you have yet to experience the most difficult game of this current generation, trust me it meets all the requirements of controller throwing, smashing, and yelling obscenities at fictional character that come with true frustration from gaming.  Lots of gamers have turned away after less than an hour of playtime, including myself.  I have noticed that the older I get the lower my difficulty settings need to be set in order for enjoyment, this is something that is quite alarming considering you have games like Dark Souls that do not offer different difficulty levels and games like Halo in which the developers express a difficulty the game is intended to be played on which happens to be Heroic a step above normal.  For me trying to play through Dark Souls normal difficulty is like beating Halo on Legendary, something I will never do because I do not possess the skill and patience to do so.  Does this mean I should just never be given the chance to complete Dark Souls?  Should I never be allowed to have an enjoyable experience with the game?  

Not all hope is lost though after the recent release of Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, yes that is the official title, the games direct has talked about creating an easier mode for the game.  Now the talks of this have of course upset some fans who like the challenge and the notoriety for beating such a difficult game but really no one is forcing them to play it on easy, just because other people would be able to experience the game does not take away from the fact that some went through the gauntlet of frustration that is beating Dark Souls on its normal difficulty setting.  Some fans have argued that it would ruin the balance of the games enemies, this is the call of the ridiculous fan who just assumes that there is a slider developers would just move back and make everything easier for players.  News flash gamers a lot of balance goes into difficulty scaling, hours upon hours of play testing to get things just right as to not ruin the pacing of story elements of the game and really the entire flow of the game.  Walking with a crutch is an up and down walk, very bumpy but a helping hand is a smooth walk up to the gates of death that is Dark Souls, I look forward to this helping hand as I am sure many other gamers do as well.  All in all, easier modes build your audience and if they can be done without sacrificing the vision of the game then the more the merrier! 

    

Halo 4: PAX News Part 2

The other bit of Halo 4 news that has come out from PAX has fans on the Internet flipping out for no reason as they appear to do always, slight changes made to some of the key multiplayer gametypes.  The one that has got fans riled up the most is not being able to drop the flag once you have picked it up in a game of CTF (Capture The Flag), in previous games in the franchise players would pick the flag up and perform what has been called "juggling" by the Halo community.  To juggle the flag the player would pick the flag up, jump, and at the highest point of their jump they would throw the flag, this would not only advance the flags position making it the quickest way to score the flag but it would make the in game announcer say "flag dropped, "flag taken" over and over again which would infuriate members of the other team.  It has become a staple of the competitive side of the franchise but now with the upcoming release of Halo 4 juggling is out, instead the player will now pick the flag up automatically, no longer will they have to hold the X button to do so, once the flag is picked up it the players movement speed will no longer be slowed down and they will automatically pull out a pistol in their other hand and epic music begins to play.  Take a look for yourself in this gameplay clip from PAX, don't mind the poor play of the player, in fact do not watch the whole video, I would be amazed if you could do so without vomiting.



This is a change that I feel the community is upset just because it is a change, in no way do I feel it takes away from the teamwork side of CTF, all it does is take away the ability for skilled players to have a very quick flag score on players who do not know all the tricks and play styles of the competitive community.  In fact I believe it increases the teamwork required to score the flag because of another new feature that has competitive players upset, with the inclusion of not being able to drop the flag the opposing team will also have an indicator on screen that simple says "kill" showing them where the flag carrier is.  The competitive community is upset by this for the fact that there is no longer the possibility of a stealth flag capture, I agree with this being a bummer for the fact that it was always great having to relay to teammates which way the flag carrier was heading in hopes that it wasn't too late for them to cut them off and ruin their capture party.  Now the main reason why I do like this indicator is for the fact that every player on your team knows where to go and what to do, no more complaining about teammates without headsets not communicating or just players in general going the complete wrong direction.  It again adds to the overall teamwork needed to capture the flag, you almost must have a well orchestrated plan to capture and bring the flag back to your base because now you know the entire other team will know the flags position once a member of your team has taken the flag.



The final change made to familiar objective modes found in the Halo franchise I am going to discuss happens in both Oddball and Grifball,  in Oddball traditionally one player on a team shall pick the ball up, hold the ball to score points, the ball can be dropped and passed to other members of the team if needed, and with Grifball the ball is a bomb, two teams face off spawning directly across from one another in a box of sorts, everyone is armed with a gravity hammer primary and a plasma sword secondary, the bomb spawns in the middle and must be taken into the other teams base (their spawn) and planted, then detonate to be scored.  The major change that is taking place is now the players have the ability to pass the ball or bomb depending on which gametype you are player, this changes the game immensely.  I can envision teams picking up the bomb at the start of a match of Grifball just to throw it as far as they can towards the other teams base as a way of pushing them back and advancing the bomb and in Oddball it is easy to for see what will happen, some epic games of monkey in the middle.  This is a welcome change to both games, not only does it add to the teamwork of each game but it adds to the fun that will happen, imagine intercepting a bomb pass in Grifball and taking it all the way to the other teams base for the score. or intercepting a ball pass in Oddball to steal away the win from the other team.  All in all I believe all these changes (even the ones in CTF that players are upset about) will bring great changes to these gametypes Halo fans have come to love and that fans should stop yelling at change, it is similar to the classic Simpson's newspaper headline, "Old Man Yells at Cloud."  

Halo 4: PAX News Part 1

Well it is that time of year again, the time that gamers realize big game announcements are moving away from E3 and TGS and migrating towards more fan related shows such as Gamescom a couple weeks ago and now Penny Arcade Expo or PAX which is delivering big surprises for fans already.  Halo fans were treated with a plethera multiplayer details, gameplay and a fancy new 10 minute long vidoc titled "A Hero Awakens" showing off segments of campaign clips along with more of the usual vague story details about the Master Chiefs story arc mixed in with overall tidbits of HYPE.



There it is, ten minutes vague Halo 4 campaign info, what most people will notice is of course how the game looks visually.  Not only is it a huge step forward for the visuals of the entire franchise but it is rather impressive to be squeezing out this much horsepower out of an 8 year old machine, for that I applaud the team at 343 industries.  What is not as noticeable is how well the progression of the story elements and how the team has tackled crafting this story match one another so well, this is something in design is what I like to call hitting your stride.  When the team itself is going through the same arc that they are portraying for their characters it feels more natural, for instance Halo 4 appears to be all about taking Master Chief and Cortana and placing them outside of their comfort zone, in a new dangerous environment.  Well what do you suppose all the new talent working on the Halo franchise feels like?  Yes it might have been their dream to go over and work on this franchise they have adored for over ten years now but to pretend that is not a dangerous career choice is laughable.

This screen shot from the above Vidoc is a very telling one, confirmed by 343 head Frank O'connor to be a playable are in the game it resembles the tretoreous waters the team find themselves in when working on such a beloved franchise.  Do you want to walk into that rubble?  Take that path of destruction?  Yes, because working on something you love and have passion for is indescribable, just as Master Chief is taking that walk into unknown destruction because he is also fighting for something or someone (hint hint) that he shares that love and passion for.  This is the evolution of Master Chief they are striving for, his human side, to have him brace the unknown not because he is the ultimate hero but because he has an emotional reason for doing so.  Explained in the new vidoc, up until a year ago voice actors for Master Chief and Cortana have never been in the same room together let alone side by side in the same sound booth and  now in this new brave emotional take on the silent hero they are.  By finally placing the two of them in the same room, having them meet they are striving to show emotional change in the voice actors themselves.  They want them to sound as if two old friends are reuniting after years apart, just as they want Halo 4 to feel as your old friend to ease you into the changes that have taken place.  Halo 4 is here to start a new chapter in the Halo franchise, a chapter of discover of who Master Chief is, what his connections to this world and inhabitants actually is, why is he fighting for them?  Maybe he isn't fighting for them, maybe he fighting for her.  Tune in later on today when I touch on the multiplayer details that have some in the Halo community scared, just like an old man who fears all change. 

 

Adaptive Storytelling: I am a fan.

If you haven't given Telltale Games The Walking Dead a shot then you probably are not among the gamers that found themselves incredibly depressed but in the most awesome way possible after playing the recent release of the third episode.  Episodic content is something that has been done before, has been talked about for a long time and ultimately is what DLC should be, not horse armor or different weapon and character skins.  The Walking Dead is succeeded at not just episodic content but in changing the way stories are told in games, releasing bimonthly Telltale is taking their time crafting an ever changing story that leaves the player continually guessing not only what is coming next but more importantly questioning the same things one does when something doesn't go their way.  How did I end up here?

The beauty of The Walking Dead is not the decisions the player makes, not the freedom they are given to treat other survivors how they see fit but it is the decisions the player doesn't know they are making until the consequences happen.  When in conversation you are giving brief descriptions of what to say, conversations can escalate rather quickly as they tend to do but it is not until the person you are speaking with forms an opinion or creates a memory based on what you have said to them pops up in the upper left corner does it hit the player that there is a direct impact to what is being said.  These interactions happen so quickly that it emulates everyday conversation in the sense that the player might dwell on negative things that were said, not do characters remember the way you have treated them but so do you, it weighs heavily on your choices.  The story choices create such a feeling of tension for the player, as if you are walking on egg shells the entire time to keep yourself in characters good graces but the events that you cause and how you deal with them is what ultimately leaves a lasting impression. 

Many times throughout the first three episodes of The Walking Dead decisions have to be made in the heat of the moment, this has evolved to a point that there are noticeable improvements in to how these are presented to the player.  For example Telltale has gone away from the this character is being attacked and so is this one but you can only save one choice, to in the latest episode life or death choices can happen in an escalated conversation as the story of these characters is beginning to reflect the unimaginable times they are trying to survive.  People make irrational decisions every day, it is no different in the world of The Walking Dead.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the first episode, you won't regret it, at least not as much as some of the choices you might make in your playthrough.   

That's it?

Well hurricane Isaac turned out to be a bit of a dud, in fact me and some friends made time to head to the bar for some drinks and singing Tuesday night.  As far as continuing that post about the game Rain, guess what?  I decided I am not going to, got to thinking and thought really what is the point of talking about the possibility of a game without having seen more than a minute of gameplay clips and ultimately having no idea how they are actually using water as mechanics, other than the visual mechanic of only being seen when under the rain.  Instead I am going to talk about something that is stressed highly when trying to break into the game industry, seems simple but can be very challenging, networking.

Being only a little over 2 months removed from college the biggest thing career advisers from my school tell me is it is about networking, promoting yourself, and making connections with people.  This is all fine and dandy but why wasn't this topic focused on in school?  I saw no forms of networking facilitated by the school itself for students to introduce them to other students from different disciplines, this is something that in hindsight would be extremely beneficial to not just me but anyone looking for work after graduation.  Right now indie games are making a big splash in the industry, being able to have connections upon graduation to at least work on a small project with people from other disciplines in the industry would be a huge plus.  So right now here it is, anyone want to network?  Doesn't that just sound strange?  You don't know me, I don't know you but hey want to talk and bounce ideas off one another?  Actually no, that is not what I want to do.  Everyone has ideas, that is the easy part but now if you would like to work on something actual put a product together then lets talk.

Battling the Elements

There is a possibility that this blog may go silent for the next couple of days with hurricane Isaac heading my way, hoping for the best and that it does not decide to strengthen too much in the gulf but you never know.  This brings me to the topic of "battling the elements" as they say, something that really is not tackled often in video games other than outdoor sports simulation and racing games.  Open world games are an example of how primarily weather effects are being used to set the tone and atmosphere for the world the player is roaming about but can it be used as more than just visual flare?  Can weather be successfully used as a recurring mechanic?  These are the questions that some developers have been brave enough to tackle, with varying results of course.

Spec Ops:  The Line is a more recent example of a developer attempting to use the weather of the games local as a mechanic but ultimately this mechanic is more of a crutch for the developer to lean on when the going gets tough.  Spec Ops is a perfect example of what I would call poor game design for many reasons, the player mindlessly moves from area to area killing enemies that happen to be coming into the same area from the other direction, once they are all dead the player is given the okay to move on head first into the next area, care to guess how the next area plays out?  You guessed right, mindless shooting at faceless enemies all for the sake of moving forward but being that the game takes place in the deserts of Dubai the occasional sand storm happens.  The problem lies in the fact that the sand storm is used as a shield for the player, the sand does not affect any of the players movement but merely their visibility yet not to the extent it effects the enemies, this storm somehow makes enemies incapable of seeing anything unless it is inches in front of them.  One would think that bad guys with guns who live in Dubai would be used to sand storms by now but apparently they have the same reaction a toddler would have.

This brings me to a game I talked about previously in another post and believe it deserves more attention for not only using weather as its main mechanic but for the feeling it is trying to achieve.  The point is there is no balance there, if you are going to tackle weather as an actual mechanic there must be cause and effect that is both believable and fun.  If the developers of Spec Ops took that into account they would not have bothered to put sand storms in the game because honestly a vicious sand storm would limit not just visibility but also movement.  Finding that balance of fun and plausibility is something best left for a design that inflicts emotion rather than a design built around cool effects.  What is more plausible and fun than playing in the rain?  Something almost all people attempt at some point of their life, whether it be their childhood, teenage years, or even adult years, there is something about running out in a cool rain feeling for that moment that your worries are washing away.  Check back tomorrow, yes tomorrow I will still be here not expecting to do battle with Isaac until Tuesday or so, for a look at the possibilities of what can be done with Rain.  All of this will be pure speculation as not much is none of the game yet and that is what makes talking about its design so much fun, there are so many possibilities to be discussed.